It's a very rare event for the European market to get a release that the US doesn't get - I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it certainly is rare. So I am curious to how come we got such a privilege? I mean you could even argue that the release wasn't even complete without the inclusion of English dubbed voice acting. I just find it weird that it was never distributed in the US until of course the Xbox re-release.

joka wrote:Was it definitely due to the Microsoft deal? I thought that all came way after....

The exclusivity deal with MS was probably signed long before the DC version of the game even hit Europe. It was re-textured in places, the frame rate was enhanced and it included a full English dub. That all takes time.

MS didn't sign the rights for the game in Europe, only NA, so it was still released there without any issues on the DC.

joka wrote:Was it definitely due to the Microsoft deal? I thought that all came way after....

The exclusivity deal with MS was probably signed long before the DC version of the game even hit Europe. It was re-textured in places, the frame rate was enhanced and it included a full English dub. That all takes time.

MS didn't sign the rights for the game in Europe, only NA, so it was still released there without any issues on the DC.

Oh ok. We were lucky enough to get the Xbox version too so didn't really pay attention to the reasons back then lol

A friend of mine and I were discussing this several months ago. I remember being heartbroken, having just seen banners on GameFAQs advertising it, and when he heard the news, he stomped over to his wall and tore down an advertisement he had hung that was marketing the US release for DC.

It was a rough time for SEGA fans. Dreamcast was on its way out, SEGA was going third party, and barely more than a month before release, it was announced we weren't getting Shenmue II for another year at least, and on a different system entirely. It was an all-time low for Dreamcast fans. Fun times, fun times!

That does seem strange. What's worse is the Dreamcast was a dying console and while the original Xbox was a success it didn't sell nearly enough as the Playstation 2. If only SEGA released it on the Playstation 2, imagine that, it would have sold a lot more and generally the Playstation crowd are usually more receptive of these types of titles.

That does seem strange. What's worse is the Dreamcast was a dying console and while the original Xbox was a success it didn't sell nearly enough as the Playstation 2. If only SEGA released it on the Playstation 2, imagine that, it would have sold a lot more and generally the Playstation crowd are usually more receptive of these types of titles.